While Japan was hit by heavy snowfall recently, Fukui prefecture reached a record-high of more than 1.30 metres last week. For some, it was a good reason to snuggle up in warm blankets at home, or to never leave the kotatsu — a low, wooden table covered by a futon, with a heat source underneath. For others, it was prime time to build snowmen, snow Pokemon, snow Totoro, and in some instances, chillingly eerie snow Noh masks. 親の車埋め尽くしたった pic.twitter.com/zfxbxkICYU

Japan is well-known for producing a variety of anime characters and mascots. As to which character is the most representative of Japan, it differs from one person to another. Is it the cute electric mouse Pokemon Pikachu?

It seems that in recent times, virtual reality has been applied to multiple facets of our lives, more notably in games and on roller coasters. Otherwise known as VR, virtual reality can help to enhance our experiences, making it feel as though we are in a different space.

Japanese rock band ONE OK ROCK may be a global name now, but this was not always the case. In a recent interview on Saturday (20 January) ahead of their performance to a 6,500-strong crowd at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, the band’s lead vocalist Takahiro Moriuchi (known simply as “Taka”) shared their experience during their initial performances in the United States. “There is that very strong, significant ‘away’ feeling,” Taka said of performing to an American audience at an interview session with Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore and other media.

They say, “New year, new me.” How about “New year, new cat?” Nope, we are not asking you to get a new cat — although if you are intending to, remember to adopt and not buy — but for cat lovers to get a new accessory for your beloved felines! かぶりものシリーズ第１９弾！かわいい かわいい ねこキャンディちゃんhttps://t.co/YThnqgOnet pic.twitter.com/kMlxpto7Gg

Former Japanese AV star Sola Aoi announced her marriage on Weibo. Congratulations are in order for former Japanese adult video star Sola Aoi, who just announced her marriage on her Weibo account on 1 January (Monday). Aoi, who is known to have a large following of fans in China, uploaded a photo of herself wearing a wedding ring, along with a message in Mandarin to her fans.

Obsessed with getting more likes and followers on your social media sites? Well, your obsession could just pay off with this special campaign by a resort hotel called The Scene in Amami Islands, Japan! 【THE SCENE NEW PLAN】期間限定の日本初「フォロ割プラン」がスタート！SNSのいいね数やフォロワー数の合算した数が、プラン費用から割引。「フォロ割りプラン」https://t.co/mx86FVpT47 pic.twitter.com/G5bLPXu0v9

Whenever Singapore’s MRT trains break down, many people lament how problematic or inefficient they are, often citing how amazing Japan’s trains are. It does look like a striking difference in quality of service, especially when there are cases like Japanese train company apologising for leaving the station 20 seconds early.

Unh! Ever since the comical Pikotaro — who dons an iconic yellow outfit with a leopard-print scarf — came up with the catchy Pen Pineapple Apple Pen (PPAP) song, his popularity has skyrocketed. Apart from moving into the role of a producer, the Japanese comedian also recently had the honour of performing at the official state reception when President Donald Trump visited Japan. Despite his success now, Pikotaro was previously known by his other stage name, Daimaou Kosaka.

Previously, we have seen some funky Japanese fashion items like the frog jacket and fried chicken pants. Now, if you ever feel that you love dried fish so much you want it by your side always, you are in luck! Because a Japanese creative designer, Aomikan has made niboshi, or dried anchovy, into hair accessories.

Korean actor Park Bo-gum (left) with Japanese actor Takeru Satoh. You may recognise Takeru Satoh from the recently-released Ajin movie, or his role as the titular Kenshin in the live-action Rurouni Kenshin films, but the Japanese actor now has another accolade to his name. The 28-year-old made a special appearance on Wednesday (29 November) at the Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA) held in Japan, and immediately after became the most searched keyword on NAVER, Korea’s major search engine.

Last weekend, from 24 to 26 November, a Pokemon GO event was held at Tottori sand dunes in Japan. Named Tottori GO, the event replicated a famous section of the original Pokemon game called Safari Zone, where Pokemon trainers can catch a variety of Pokemon for a limited time period. In this case, the trainers could find rare Pokemon like Mr Mime and Unown at the famed sand dunes over the three days.

This drawing of a bolt and nut fully done in pencil looks so real, one would have thought it is a photograph. Few would imagine that pencil lead can give drawings such a metallic look, enhanced by the realistically-illustrated water droplets. The artist has been in love with drawing since young.

Have you been to Japan’s supermarkets or convenience stores and noticed some cartons have a notch mark, like it is chipped off on the top of their milk cartons? Actually, this is a barrier-free design specifically made for the visually impaired.

Japan’s popular discount store Don Don Donki will be opening its first Southeast Asian outlet at Orchard Central on Friday (1 December) from 10am. It will also have a “night market” concept featuring eight dining outlets in partnership with food manufacturer Hokkaido Marche. The exact opening hours for Hokkaido Marche will be confirmed nearer to the opening date.

Last month, Japanese netizens could not decide on the name of a colour. This time, the Japanese are confused by an actual building looking two-dimensional, with seemingly no depth at all. To top it off, people did not notice earlier — especially when it is the building of a popular place, Akihabara train station!

Popular fashion mall LUMINE opened its first store outside Japan on Saturday (25 November) at The Central mall in Clarke Quay. During the opening party on Friday (24 November) evening at the store, the theme was set to “I AM WHO I AM”, which is derived from LUMINE’s aim to inspire variability in fashion from Japan for Singaporean women. Lovers of anything and everything about Japan can now enjoy a new shopping and cafe experience.

When it comes to tonkotsu, which means pig bone in Japanese, many would associate it with the thick and delicious ramen broth. When it comes to savoury desserts, who could resist the taste of a custard pudding? People who love this salty broth and also have a sweet tooth would find this tonkotsu pudding from Japan a heavenly match!

Ever since the selfie era started, social media sites have seen multiple variations develop, such as the “wefie” and even “chinfie”. What’s next? Well, one variation likely to pick up in popularity next is probably this “selfie-ception”, as demonstrated by Japanese comedian Shingo Fujimori of Oriental Radio. HONGKONG #映え映えーーーー！ #ただただカッコよくてごめんなさいねー2 #なんていう？ #自撮り撮り？ #シャレオツすぎて戸惑う #戸惑いつつドヤ #ちゃんとiPhoneフォーカスしてる #真似してみたらいいじゃん #Xならできると思うよ #iPhoneのCMじゃないよ photo by @yuma1983 A post shared by 藤森慎吾(オリラジ) (@fujimori_shingo0317) on Nov 5, 2017 at 3:18am PST

One of the best ramen chains in Japan goes to incredible lengths to ensure that its customers have their toilet paper needs well covered. A notice in the toilet cubicle of Ichiran Ramen reads, “As you see, Ichiran strives to make sure that you will never run out of toilet paper. True enough, the famous ramen chain in Japan does have more than one toilet paper holder installed in their cubicles.

A bento manufacturer in Shizuoka said its bento was very Instagrammable. Food is among one of the top few things people post on Instagram. Solely the hashtag #food already documented more than 240 million Instagram posts.

The highly anticipated Japanese discount store Don Quijote will be opening in Singapore in December with the name Don Don Donki. Don Quijote – also known as “Donki” in Japan – is largely known for its wide range of products at affordable prices, as well as its long operating hours. It’s flagship store in Singapore will be located at Orchard Central and will boast an eclectic mix of product offerings that are all designed and made in Japan.

The Internet is a huge repository of photos of cats looking cute, or doing things as they please, or even exhibiting some ninja moves. But in Japanese cyberspace, a contest on the worst cat photo is gaining popularity.

It’s common these days that children are accustomed to using electronic gadgets. It seems that “smartphone child-rearing” is on the rise because parents, their hands full, find it the easiest way to cope. Among the 92.4 per cent of those women who possessed a smartphone, regarding the question “In a week, how often does your child view or use the smartphone at home?”, 20 per cent of parents with children under 12 months answered “almost every day”.